A useful application of the ideas of neuro-linguistic programming…

Whilst it should be noted that neuro-linguistic programming is an unproven psychotherapy technique which suffers from a tremendous amount of misconception and misinformation, it should also be noted that if we drill down to the core of the principles behind it, there could be something useful underlying it. The principle is a fairly straightforward one, in that the human brain can be re-trained or re-programmed to think in certain ways by positive, repetitive reinforcement. Certainly we understand that the brain is a complex network of neural pathways that are constantly being formed, destroyed and reformed, and it is considered that this is in part the way that learning and memory work. As we learn new skills or strategies the process of learning forces new neural pathways to develop and over time and repetition these pathways become “preferred routes” for neural signals. It can be imagined as a network of roads which have developed from simple single lane paths through wider tracks on to tarmac roads then dual carriageways and finally trunk roads and highways.

We can see a potential aspect of this in someone learning to play a musical instrument. As a person learns to play the muscles develop around the movements required to play the instrument. At the same time, the brain is being reconfigured so that auditory signals are interpreted differently, the neurons controlling muscles become refined and recent FMRI research has shown that the neural connections across the left and right hemispheres of the brain are increased in both quantity and efficiency of communication. This would suggest that it should be possible to train the brain in other ways, for example in a business setting to condition the mind to think about problems differently, perhaps to see them as challenges rather than obstacles. There has been similar work in the field of linguistics into how the use of certain words triggers certain responses, and again we can see that there is potential for changes to be made here, not simply in terms of finding better language for use in office situations but also in terms of how that language is understood and acted up on by the listener.

I can see a commercial application for such training done correctly but there will need to be a lot of work done to reduce the number of people currently involved in NLP who don’t really understand either what they are doing or the underlying psychology….

Two minutes to midnight and all that jazz....

Iron Maiden wrote a song back in the mid ‘80’s called two minutes to midnight, referencing the much vaunted “atomic” clock used by scientists to assess the threat level of nuclear war and the destruction of civilization. The hands on the clock being set closer to or further way from midnight depending on the political situations around the World. During the Cuban missile crisis the hands had been set at two minutes to midnight as tensions rose and fingers were poised over those infamous red buttons. Since the end of the cold war between Russia and America there has been a relaxing of nuclear tensions, based around the SALT nuclear arms reduction treaties, but of late the clock has been dusted off and is one again in use. The reason for this is clear. There has been an increased awareness of the threat of other countries developing and having access to nuclear weapons. At one point only Russia and America had atomic weapons, although these were based around the World, but always controlled by the superpowers. We are now in a position where we see Israel, India, Pakistan, China and North Korea with nuclear capability, and the potential for states such as Iran, Saudia Arabia and the former Russian states joining that group is significant. Further it has been discovered that significant quantities of enriched Uranium is not where it is supposed to be, and may have been sold on the black market. The possibilities of dirty bomb terrorist attacks is considered significant, as is the use of limited yield tactical devices in border disputes in the developing World.

There was an interesting programme on Channel 4 in the UK last night regarding this issue and there are in my opinion two angles to be considered. It is undoubtedly the case that nuclear weapons are proliferating rather than being reduced, and it is also almost certainly the case that they are proliferating in areas of questionable stability. Ranged against these conjectures is the issue of lack of credibility in global leaders in regard to issues such as these. In the UK there is a feeling that we were drawn into the first and Second Gulf War against Iraq on a false premise that Saddam Hussain held stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, particularly biological and chemical weapons, but also potentially nuclear weapons. There was a fraudulent dossier passed by the CIA detailing black market trade in “Yellow cake” or enriched weapons grade Uranium through Nigeria that was used spuriously as evidence. With a background of misinformation it is perhaps understandable that there is some question over the validity of the threat, particularly given the use of such threats as a perceived excuse for the erosion of civil liberties.

The need for constructive, rational debate over the implications of security of fissile material, and rather than sitting on stockpiles of weapons, move towards a truly global unilateral disarmament. There is no place for nuclear weapons in our World, and nor will there ever be. This is one genie that needs to be forced back into the bottle…..

Social networking gets aggressive….

The battle lines are drawn between two superpowers. Forces are arrayed on both sides and the peacemakers are trying their utmost to find solutions before small border skirmishes escalate into all out conflict. This could be a scene anywhere in the Middle East currently, and indeed some would argue that it is, but it is also a scene being played out in corporate America, and more importantly, on the internet. The growth of social networking has been spectacular. We have all seen dotcom bubbles grow and burst, but this looks like that rarest of beasts, a genuine long term phenomenon. Facebook has generated enormous revenues for its developers, and has taken a stranglehold on the online social marketplace. It has already seen of one rival, Myspace having been relegated to the status of a third world charity case desperately trying to find a niche to cling to, but as with any growth market with an obvious way of making serious money, there is a very strong desire for others players to enter the game.

The latest player to enter looks to be a very serious contender indeed, and for the first time it appears that Facebook is actually worried. This new player is a battle hardened veteran of many internet skirmishes, and has been successful in their own arena against some very big players already, and now they have Facebook firmly in their sights. This warrior of the internet is non other than the King of the search engines, Google. Having already largely won the war for search engine use, and expanded into the marketplace for browser dominance with Google Chrome, one of the fastest growing browsers in the World, they are now currently in beta testing of the latest Google offering, Google Plus. Targeted squarely at facebook as Googles own social networking site, and looking to offer the best of facebook with none of the downsides it looks an interesting proposition.

We already know that Google have the technical skills and certainly the resources to make a serious bid for at least a fair fight in this marketplace, and it does rather beg the question, is there room for two major players in this arena? To the casual observer, and indeed to the casual user, I would guess that there is little to this question beyond what is best for me as an individual user, and who are most of my friends using? However, it can be argued that there is something more to this than might first appear to be the case. There is a reason for the military allusion beyond its function as narrative. Over the last 12 months there has been increasing use od social sites, particularly Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information from war-zones, highlighting the plight of ordinary people in these areas. Both Facebook and Twitter have tended to keep communication lines open and allowed the majority of posts from these regions. By contrast there is some evidence that Google has made agreements with the Chinese government to surpress news stories that ran counter to the party line, and to limit access to human rights internet content. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference as we move forward….

A tale of two sports....

An interesting weekend for sport in England with two extremes demonstrated. As a nation we are very proud of our sporting heritage, and of our national teams as well as our regional teams, and on a global stage, the sports that we brought to the world, particularly football, cricket and rugby union are considered priority. Over this weekend we have seen two very different performances from two of our national teams. Our Rugby team played Wales, a match that we would expect to win, particularly in the run up to the World Cup next month, and our Cricket team played India, the World number one team, a match that we would expect to be far more of a struggle. I managed to watch both matches and the differences were very obvious. Our cricket team, playing at Edgabaston, excelled themselves beating Indian by more than an innings with some spectacular, record breaking scores, completing a series win three games to nil. By comparison, our Rugby team lost to Wales with only one try in the game being scored by the Welsh side.

What was perhaps most interesting was the passion, or lack of it shown by the two teams. At international level there should be utter pride in playing for the national team, and it should be shown from the singing of the anthem through to the final whistle. With the cricket match we saw a level of determination from the England players to not simply beat the Indian side but to demolish them. As each wicket fell there was a calmness to the celebrations that demonstrated a mindest that was solely focused on getting the job done. By comparison the rugby team were lacklustre from the outset. Simple plays were not completed, passes were wayward, tackles were missed and the team were not at any point being outplayed by better opposition but were simply unable to compete effectively. Sure, the Welsh team defended well, but there were far too many mistakes.

In situations like these there is a requirement that is inherent to the success of a team. That requiement is leadership. The cricket team was led by Andy Strauss, a player of passion and commitment who leads by example and manages to control and organise the team whilst being heavily involved in the action. By comparison the rugby team were led  by Mike Tindall, undoubtedly one of the most passionate players in modern rugby, always committed, always full of energy and drive, but often so wrapped up in his own performance that he is unable to take a clear overview of the bigger picture and consequently is less able to take the tactical decisions that were needed to run the team effectively.

When I look back over the great sporting captains and the way that they organise and manage the way ames are played I think of a commanding presence, not simply comfortable with managing their own performance, but also comfortable managing everyone elses at the same time. The same can be said of great managers in business. It relies on being so complete in ones own role that time can be allocated to enhancing and mentoring others to bring the best performance from the team as a whole. I can only think that Mr. Johnson the England rugby team manager will be somewhat disappointed by his captains performance, and will either work to fix the problem or appoint another captain for the World Cup matches next month....... 

The internet as an repository of knowledge.....

A friend of mine has spent the morning at an antiques fair, and come back with a rather nice little silver pendant. It is the figured of winged Isis, the Egyptian mother Goddess in the form of a stylised animal figure but on the reverse is a runic script which translates as Celtic Magic Isis Design. So we have an Egyptian deity with a norse inscription and a Celtic motto. Beyond that it is hallmarked sterling silver. My friend wanted to find out a little more about it so I got on to Google and ha a little trawl and within twenty minutes I had found the maker, the date and the symbolic significance of the item. It transpires that it is a part of Masonic regalia that has been modified for use in magical ceremonies as an altar piece.

It is quite amazing how easy it is to find information online about the most obscure or specific subjects given a logical turn of mind and an understanding of the way search engines work. It also never ceases to amaze me how many people struggle to find the information they are looking for even on fairly common topics. The trick, I believe, is to treat the internet, and search engines in particular as you would a child. Make your instructions and requests clear and concise, have a good idea about what information you are looking for so that you can filter out the wheat from the chaff. There is a skill involved in effective searching and in analysing the results.

Work is constantly ongoing within search engine companies and University Computer Science departments to come up with more and more complex search algorithms to refine searches and even moving towards "learning" algorithms on the verge of artificial intelligence to refine search processes further, and to make searching more intuitive. We have a long way to go to perfect the system, but the internet is a truly useful learning resource when used effectively, and will become even better if allowed to grow and develop as an open source resource. It will be interesting to see where it goes....

Healing our broken society.....

So, the majority of the country was quiet last night after four nights of looting and civil disobedience. There will be all sorts of claims as to what has calmed the situation, vigilante groups claiming they scared off the looters, police numbers increased and police orders changed will be claimed too, as will the weather, and the difficulties of sustaining civil unrest of this type beyond four days. The wider community will claim that it was the calls for calm, and the religious types will claim that it was the power of prayer. Whatever the cause, and it will almost certainly have been a combination of effects, I welcome this peace with open arms, and trust and hope that it will continue. Walking through Birmingham city centre this morning I saw so many shops and pubs damaged and boarded up, so many businesses large and small that will be paying the price of the troubles, so many lives negatively affected, not just financially at this difficult time, but also in terms of confidence and a sense of security.

I feel that it will take some time to come back from these events, but what we have to look to is why this happened in the first place. As we look at the types of people involved we see not only the usual subjects of blame, the disaffected youth, the unemployed, the bored, thugs, but also young people who have jobs, who are building careers, who may have just been caught up in the moment, but it could also be the case that the disatisfaction with society goes deeper than people believe. We are seeing a primary school teaching assistant, a graphic designer, students people that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be involved. My gut instinct is that there was a tremendous amount of opportunistic looting going on, and that it was almost certainly organised at some level. I think that the purported reason of a young man in London being shot, whilst it may have been part of the catalyst was only a small part, the remainder being made up of people seeing an opportunity for mayhem and disorder.

These people are known to their local communities and one of the key ways that we can work together to deal with this situation is by being strong enough within our communities to address these people and to interact with the police to deal with them. In many communities affected this will present issues because trust and faith in the police has been systemically eroded over a number of years, but in order to make progress olive branches must be offered and trust re-established. This can only be achieved slowly and with the help of respected community leaders building bridges and taking their communities with them. It will also require the police being more open and confronting the failings within their own ranks and with the broken links to local communities. By working together, all of us, we can rebuild our society stronger and better than before, and be in a much better position to face the challenges that are coming over the next few years.....

The consequences of our actions cause more ripples than we can count....

Last nights violence across the country brought the inevitable cost here in Birmingham with at least three deaths resulting from a brawl on Dudley Road as local people confronted looters, trying to protect their shops, livelhoods and communities. Young people are being killed on our streets because of what exactly? I am hearing all sorts of excuses and reasons for the current civil disorder, but at root, what is the real cause? I am sure that the causes are many and nebulous and complex in many minds, but in mine they are clear and boil down to one thing. We have lost respect for one another and for the communities and societies in which we live. There is no evidence of respect for property, livelihoods even life. We have cheapened ourselves and each other to such an extent that nothing matters anymore, and it saddens my heart. As I watch the images of looting and violence, and experience the aftermath first hand on my way to the office, seeing pubs I drink in smashed up, my local community torn apart, friends and aquaintances hurt and their businesses damaged I can't help but wonder, what next?

We have a little rain here today, and there is a hope that this change in the weather along with a quieting down of the trouble in London may quieten things down here tonight, but London is quietened as a consequence of being on pretty much complete lockdown. I wonder if we have the policing resources in the West Midlands to do the same. The boys in blue seemed to be having a tough time of it in parts of Birmingham last night. I guess we will just have to see what happens.

I would like to take this opportunity to make a personal plea to the communities that I live in, and to the people who are out on the streets causing this situation, for the sake of our city, and the sake of our people, to bring an end to this before more people like Shazad Hussain, may the peace of the prophet be upon him, lose their lives and leave families shattered. This has already gone too far, and it needs to stop right now. Whatever point may have been the catalyst for this has been lost, whatever was hoped to be achieved has been lost. There is no benefit to be derived from this, to be honest there never was, but it is time to end it. I pray for peace, and would ask all those of faith to do the same. There will be a lot of energy required for rebuilding both physically and emotionally after this is over, and we will need to be strong. I have faith in humanity and in our communities, and I have faith that we can overcome this by working together. This is a great and beautiful and vibrant city and we are better than this.